Music Magazine EvaluationBy Marie Kamara

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

StraplinesThe use of straplines is noticeable on both magazines.

Main ImageMy magazine shows the use of one main image like the ‘VIBE’ magazine does.

SkylineThere is a skyline on both magazines but mine has a slogan there but the VIBE one has stories on there of the magazine content.KickerMy magazine shows the kicker going across the page but there isn’t one on the VIBE magazine.

Barcode & PriceBoth magazines show the barcodes and the price on there.

Pug & PuffMy magazine only has a pug on there but the VIBE magazine has both on there.

DateOnly the VIBE magazine shows the date on there.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Explanation…My magazine tries to show in different ways how I have tried to use, develop and challenge the different conventions that you find in real media products. One way that my magazine uses conventions from a real media product is with the main image. If you look at the comparative magazine on the right you will be able to see that there is one main image on the front cover just like mine. It stands out and covers the majority of the page so that it can symbolise to the audience the importance of the magazine and that the person on the front is what the magazine is all about.

One way that this magazine develops conventions of a magazine is that my magazine has got the kicker on there compared to the VIBE magazine. If you look carefully you can see that my kicker stands out as it is quite big and it goes across the page. This is a typical convention for a magazine but because I saw that has not used one I thought I could show how my magazine was able to differ but still use the typical conventions you would expect to find in a magazine.

Personally, I don’t think that my magazine challenges any of the conventions of a normal magazine and I know that over time there is the possibility that I could change the magazine to ensure that it does also challenge some of the conventions of a normal magazine.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

One way that this magazine represents particular social groups is by the contents of the magazine. For example the artists that have been included on there such as Drake and Chris Brown are the types of artists that the young generation are in to.

The type of clothes that Junaid (the model on the double page spread and Nelson (the model on the contents page) are wearing is the latest fashion in clothing. This is a positive concept because it will enable the people of this social group to buy the magazine because they will want to be inspired by the style of dress and even copy it themselves.

The language on there is the type of language that those who listen to R’n’B would understand. Represents their connection with this genre of music. An example of this is on the front cover in the straplines where it says: “Imma Rev-Run this town”. This shows the slang that these people use in order to talk with each other.

It also gives other people of other ages and social groups an understanding of how people within this social group are able to feel comfortable with each other as well as communicating with each other in their own way.

Using real stories is also something that different social groups are able to associate themselves with the contents of the article because most have followed the same path or have had previous encounters with the situations that Junaid explains in the article.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Lifestyles for people who tend to be within this social group are not always upbeat upbringings and they usually belong in gangs, have previously been in prison, or even had tough upbringings. This also links with them being able to link in with the language as well as attitude that is expressed by the individuals. This is what causes stereotypes to be generated by other individuals and audiences.

The language used by the Junaid in the double page spread story in the magazine such as: “They’re just hating but it’s cool...” This informal communication is something that audiences of this social group will connect to because they will understand what it means and why it’s expressed this way.

These individuals tend to be stereotyped by their lifestyles because the majority of R’n’B singers have all had or still do have turbulent lifestyles. This product represents these social groups because this showcases how real-life stories can be presented fictionally.

The way Junaid is sitting in the double page spread with his chin resting on the edge of his fingers shows how his approach has changed. The contents of the stories can be identified with the likes of 50 Cent, Notorious BIG, 2Pac and even Eminem. His position and gestures could imply that he was able to conquer his issues and feels superior to his past lifestyle.

Stereotypes are generated from this because people would think all people of this social group lead the same lifestyle and the contents of this magazine does suggest this but it also shows how they are able to overcome them.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

If you look at the RWD magazine you will be able to see the range of colours that they have used. These are the sort of colours that young people are interested in. However, on my magazine I decided to keep it to simple and a minimal amount of colours because I also wanted to stick to the usual conventions of a magazine. I chose to do this because I wasn’t sure whether the overuse of so many colours would be a good idea. I also knew that the use of so many colours wouldn’t work because of the colour of Junaid’s clothes.

The colours and the sort of clothes are that the models for both magazines are wearing are the type of clothes that you would expect young people within this social group to wear. On the RWD you can see that the multiple colours used and this can help to imply the constant change in the colours that the people of these generations are always interested in.

The mention of all of these famous and common artists is also a positive thing because this means that the social group would want to see what is happening in the lives of their favourite pop stars. This will also help to give these young people something that they have the intention of aspiring to be like.

RWD magazine differs more from my magazine in the sense that the front cover has more than one person on there to express the variety the magazine has to offer but my magazine shows the focus on the one person and the one genre of music.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

Through researching different institutions the kind of media institution that I would expect to distribute my media product would be InterMedia Partners. The reason that I chose this institution is because they publish magazines such as VIBE magazine. As the main focus of this company is to help with the growth of the music within the media sector. If this company was to publish my magazine then they would also be helping the magazine to progress further in the music magazine industry.

InterMedia Partners is a successful media institution and looking at the success of a magazine like VIBE magazine, I realised that if they were to publish my magazine I know that there is quite a high possibility of them being able to make my magazine known. As more people continue to know of my magazine then this will mean that its reputation will improve more and more due to its popularity with all the people of its age group.

Harris Publications is also another famous and successful media institution. They publish magazine such as XXL and just like InterMedia Partners, if I was to deal with them then there is the possibility of my magazine being successful as well. The reason I thought this as well is because I have seen that XXL is extremely popular just like VIBE is. As I would like my magazine to be successful like VIBE and XXL, I know that I would have to carefully consider which institution I think is most appropriate for me.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for this media product is Teenagers/Young Adults.

Artists on the article are the type of the people that people within this social group and age range that are interested in the people that have been mentioned on here.

Having an image of a young person on here is relevant because it helps the audience relate to him due to the similarity in age. The clothing that he is wearing is also relatable because his style of dress is something that you would expect and people within that social group to be dressed this way.

Being young myself, I am able to relate to this myself so I will also be able to put things that I know young people to listen to because it would be the sort of thing that I myself listen to.

The other reason that I chose teenagers/young adults as my target audience is because I realised that young people have a range of different areas that can be suited to them. Also I saw that R’n’B and Grime is something that is extremely popular so I decided that it would probably be easier to base my research on that so I chose to continue working on it.

The article is also for the teenagers/young adults because they are able to understand the language and the content that the magazine article is covering.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for this media product is Teenagers/Young Adults.

Apart from the magazine other types of media that this target audience would consume includes: CD’s, posters, DVD’s, T-Shirts, jewellery and even Biographies/Autobiographies.

The combination of these different media allows the individuals to connect with this social group because it enables them to see the different angles stories are shown from as well as the way they are able to connect their own personal experiences and/or knowledge with the contents of what is presented to them.

Personally, I have not experienced any of the typical situations stereotyped with these situations but from seeing the contents that are always displayed by these individuals always gives you an insight of their experiences and how it has affected them and those around them.

The other reason that I chose teenagers/young adults as my target audience is because through the different media they consume, this media product is one way they are able to connect and identify with the stories given by the people in the magazine.

Other types of media that are consumed by people within this social group would purchase these products because they want to see what contents are being offered to them and if they are able to relate to it then they will want to follow their lifestyles in order to succeed in the same if not similar way to these other individuals.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Target Audience - Teenagers/Young AdultsBy trying to attract my target audience, I decided to do an article of someone within the same age range as my target audience so that they could relate to some of the issues.

As the genre of the magazine R’n’B and Grime merged together I used this article to try and show case this through the language and the content of the story.

The same colour scheme has been used for the front cover and the double page spread to help keep it consistent . They are also masculine colours and having a boy on the front shows that this colour scheme is more appropriate.

Junaid, the model on the front of the magazine, is 17 and as my target audience is teenagers and young adults it seemed appropriate to have someone of that age range who they can relate to.

The article is made up but it has been inspired from previous singers and rap stars and how their upbringings were.

These colours are also common colours that boys would normally wear so I put them there for that reason as well because when they see how Junaid is dressed, they might be inspired to copy this style.

How did you attract/address your audience?

Target Audience - Teenagers/Young AdultsDoing an article on someone who is of a similar age is suitable because the audience will be more engaged because they feel that the article will engage their interests more than if it was someone of a different age range.

Rev-Run, Drake, Chris Brown as well as Diggy Simmons are all the latest artists that are associated with people within this social group and including them in the article would attract the audience because they would want to see what new material these artists are able to offer to them.

Green, black and grey are all masculine colours and they link in with the different artists because of the influences they have on the music industry so it was easier to relate them the article as well as images in the magazine.

Looking at Vibe, RWD and even Kerrang (a rock magazine) all models on the front covers of the magazine are all young and upcoming artists. This made it more appropriate for me to chose a model who I felt would be able to fit this criteria.

Using well-known stories like being homeless, violence as well as taking drugs showed that I was engaging the interests of the social group as I was using concepts they were familiar with or even found themselves in these sorts of situations.

Common colours was another to attract the target audience because if the model was wearing colours like pink, orange and yellow then they wouldn’t take the concept of the magazine seriously but these simple standard bold colours show that the magazine and all of its contents mean business.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?Magnetic Lasso ToolThis helped me to cut out any unnecessary parts to the image after they had been rubbed out.

Magic EraserThis rubbed out all of the excess bits then the lasso tool removed whatever was left.Hue and SaturationThese tools were used to turn the image into a black and white image.

TextI used the text tool and the different fonts that came with it in order to write up the article.

Layer Masking & ErasingI had to mask the layer in order to erase the parts of it that I never wanted. As well as this I also used the magic eraser tool and this helped to rub out all of the major parts of the background then I used the normal rubber to rub out the remainder of what was left.

ColoursI had to use the paint bucket and the font colour tool to make sure that all of the right colours were put into the text.

Layer MergingI merged together the shape and the text in the bottom right corner of the page.

Layer MergingI merged together the shape and the text in the bottom right corner of the page.

Layer DuplicatingIf you look at the front cover of the magazine, I duplicated the main image so that I could change the opacity and the filter of the image.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?Even though I knew how to use Photoshop already, I realised that there were still some things that I had never known about. For example, I learnt how to erase unwanted parts of an image through masking the layers and using the magnetic lasso tool.

This skill came in handy when I was editing the main image on the double page spread as well the one on the front cover. I was able to remove the backgrounds so that people were unable to tell where the images were originally taken.

This was the main item that I learnt about on Photoshop because I knew how to use all of the other things from previous experiences. Learning this new process came in valuable for as it helped me to improve the designs of the magazine as I went along.

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of

constructing this product?I decide to use the layer, masking and erasing tools because I wanted it to reflect on the model’s personality. As the story shows he came from a troubled childhood and I wanted these tools to show how he is trying to move on with his life and how his past still has an effect on him. The masking and layering shows ways of covering it with bits and pieces still being showcased to the audience at the same time.

As the colour of the text co-ordinates with the colour of the model’s clothing, this suggests how the magazine is trying to deliver the message of things being constant whether it’s day to day battles or even colours that are worn by individuals. These colours are very bold and matching the clothing of the model also implies how the model is also trying to unite with the magazine and attract a mass audience to showcase its contents.

Overall, I knew that it was good that I had some knowledge about Photoshop because I was able to incorporate them, along with the new skills that I had learnt, in my work in order to help me with the designing of my magazine.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have

learnt in the progression from it to the full product?Rule of Thirds:

You will be able to see that I have considered placing the image in the left corner when it came to the music magazine compared to where I have positioned the image on the magazine for the preliminary task.

ColoursIf you look at the difference between the two magazines you will be able to see that I have kept the colours on the music magazine to just four simple colours but on the other magazine you can see that there a range of clashing and contrasting different colours.

ImageI think that the image on the music magazine relates more to the content of the magazine compared to the other magazine. The other magazine just looks like a standard image was taken of two boys relaxing rather than two people posing for a school magazine.

ClarityThe positioning of the text and image on the music magazine makes it much easier to read and see what is on the magazine but with the other magazine it’s much harder due to overuse of so many colours. The background of the image also contributes to the reason why it was hard to pick suitable text colours.

EditingWhen it came to the editing of the images on both magazines, I think I did better on the music magazine even though improvements could be made on both magazines with the editing.

LayoutThe choice of layout is quite similar on both but there is only one main image on the front cover of the music magazine and this is because the idea is for it to only focus on one main thing but the other magazine focuses on so many different aspects at once.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full

product?Looking back at my preliminary task and this music magazine, I realised that my skills with Photoshop improved a great deal. I knew that my work could still always do with improving but now I know that there are other skills apart from the ones I already know that I can use in order to construct my work.

I feel that the positioning of the images has improved compared to when I was doing my preliminary task and I know that I have also improved upon my editing skills on the main images. The improvement on the layout for the music magazine made it better for me to position the text so it didn’t make the page look cluttered but if you look at the preliminary task magazine you will be able to see that the page looks cluttered because it looks as though there is a lot happening on the page even though in actual fact there wasn’t.

The use of colours has been kept to a minimal on the music magazine because I felt that I should try and keep the colours in co-ordination with the colours that the model is wearing. This differs from the preliminary magazine because you are able to see that there is the use of a lot of colours and this makes it difficult for the text to be read because it was hard to find a colour that would not clash with all of these different colours.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full

product?The music magazine involved a lot more planning and as I researched other well-known magazines such as RWD and Vibe magazine, I used them as basis to help me construct my magazine.

Both magazine reach out to a similar target audience to mine through the images, stories and even colour schemes. My target audience was teenagers/young adults and these are the target audiences that were also approached by the two magazines that I researched.

I feel that, overall, there are still elements in my music magazine that could do with improving but I know that over time when I identify which areas could still do with some improving then I know that I will be able to work on them. Creating mock-ups that we kept on adapting to week by week was definitely beneficial when making the music magazine because I saw that the quality of this magazine was better than the quality of the preliminary task magazine.